The residential rents in Qatar were broadly stable across all locations during the fourth quarter of 2011 while the number of transactions and enquiries increased as demand picked up, according to leading property consultancy Asteco.

With the exception of some marginal rises, rents are likely to remain unchanged in 2012 but demand is expected to continue rising, said Asteco in its latest report.

While supply is set to outstrip demand, the supply/demand gap will decrease towards the end of the year, it added.

“The performance of Qatar’s property sector is likely to be similar to 2011, with sales prices and rental rates remaining relatively flat,” said Jed Wolfe, managing director, Asteco Qatar.

“Bearing in mind 2011 was the third consecutive year of the global downturn experienced by the GCC markets, the Qatar real estate market performed relatively well, with pricing generally stabilising across all sectors,” remarked Wolfe.

According to Asteco, the rental rates for a two-bedroom apartment in Al Sadd and the Pearl-Qatar were on average QR6,250 ($1716) and QR13,000 per month respectively in the fourth quarter.

However, there was a small decline in rents in the prime area of West Bay, said the report.

But this was largely due to a small number of transactions rather than a market trend, while rents for compound villas rose slightly, with high quality luxury villas best performers, it added.

Rents for good quality villas ranged between QR23,000 and QR40,000 per month. Demand for prime villas that are maintained to high international standards marginally outstripped supply and this looks set to continue, the report said.
 
According to Asteco, the demand in Qatar is generally expected to be focused on prime locations such as West Bay and may minimize the effect of increased supply.

There was a distinct increase in apartment sales transactions in the Pearl-Qatar over the last three months indicating that investor confidence is returning. Transactions largely occurred in the secondary market by investors looking for distressed sales.

“With prices having stabilised for the fourth consecutive quarter, there is now strong evidence to suggest that prices have finally bottomed out and will not decline further,” said Wolfe.

Enquiry levels from both Qataris and expatriates for freehold apartments were distinctively higher than during the third quarter which may result in a more positive sales market in 2012.

Overall performance of the property market may improve this year depending on whether contracts for rail network, stadia and associated construction projects are awarded, he added.

The fourth quarter witnessed the final lettings in Tornado Tower and Al Fardan Commercial Tower, two of the most prestigious office towers in West Bay, said the Asteco report.

However, the commercial office market continues to be oversupplied with several new developments approaching completion, it added.-TradeArabia News Service